Sooth, The Thousand Realms

Xathan · June 28, 2006, 08:50:05 PM

Please direct all comments to the Sooth Discussion Thread

Overview

[note=Sooth]Sooth is actually the name for just one of the Prime Material Planes that drift through the Aether.[/note]The multiverse is vast. Countless peoples inhabit it on a seemingly infinite variety of material worlds, interacting with each other through the Aether.

Core Ethos

Sooth is a steampunk world that fits everything into it. High flying adventure on cities that float though the air and the Aether? Lovecraftian Elder Powers that eat on the edges of your sanity? Check. Steampunk elements mixed in with notions from high fantasy adventure and pulp fiction? Check. Elves that rule an ancient empire? Check, only like youÃ¢,¬,,¢ve never seen before. Empires, trade unions, and the like that span multiple worlds? Check to the extreme.

But itÃ¢,¬,,¢s also a land of reinvention. Gnomes arenÃ¢,¬,,¢t your harmless tinkerers, but ruthless slavers with a world spanning operation. Elves are part of a colonial empire that spans and contains many other primes, one of the largest ones in existence. Orcs are a major power, and the Empire of the Scions propels the lowly Kobolds to the status of major power in the world of politics.

Tone: Anything. If you want horror, there are ways to do that. Politics? Yup. Swashbuckling? With the way Aether works, you get swashbuckling galore. Kick open the door and blow the hell out of everything? Oh yeah, that works just as well here.

Genres: All. Rather ambitious, but like the tone, the genre of Sooth is pretty inclusive, though it may get more narrow for specific material worlds.

[spoiler=History of Everything]COMING SOON![/spoiler]

Xathan · June 28, 2006, 08:50:47 PM

Sooth

[ooc]The contents under this post are under heavy construction[/ooc]

The Divine Lartharin Empire is a world-spanning empire of colonies that are scattered across the continents. The Empire is renowned for its trading monopoly as the quickest way to span the globe, which is maintained by Imperial superiority with airships OR sea travel OR . Based from a trio of small islands off the continent, the Lartharin Empire is ruled by a council of elves. The primary religion in the Lartharin Empire is the worship of the Incarnation Elendiharim. The Lartharin elves look down on every other race, and the non-elves of the Lartharin Empire are treated poorly.

The Vaethim Islands Confederation is not so much a nation as it is a series of islands that sits between two continents, the Confederation is the most powerful trade nation besides the Lartharin empire. Even the Lartharins will pay Confederate shipping taxes and must use Confederate ports, since the Confederation has the most advantageous route across the globe under its control. The Confederation was a Lartharin colony that broke away during mainland wars, and has since become a major power. The Confederation has two very unique principals that govern it. First is their style of government, where people elect those who rule them. The second is their firm belief in individuality, meaning members from every race and every walk of life can be found in the Confederation. The halflings that were native to the isles had mostly adapted to the Confederation by the time of the severance, and the Confederation has profited from their labor. A few halflings still cling to their roots, however.

The Empire of Durmoz is a nation of dwarves, humans, goblins, and orcs, which spans a large portion of the main continent. The dwarves make up the majority of the nobility, though there are two human noble houses. The majority of goblins and some humans are slaves; orcs and much of the rest of humans are barbarians on the northeastern plains that worship dragons, who brought about the fall of the ancient Zaotu Empire. Recently, DurmozÃ¢,¬,,¢s nobility has come under the influence of the mystic and self-proclaimed Incarnation Nasputir, though there has not been time to verify his claim to divinity.

Zaotu, located on a forested archipelago, is a human and orcish empire renowned for its warriors. The Mazirah are the elite cast of Zaotu, made exclusively of orcs who wield Ki, and serve their lord, or tzamu, who are human. Other warrior groups exist, most of which are exclusively human. The tzamu houses make up the nobility of Zaotu, though all serve the Emperor, the being of worship in Zaotu. Rituals to the Emperor include ritualized humanoid sacrifice, leading some outsiders to believe that the Emperor is an immortal non-humanoid. Durmoz and Zaotu are ancient enemies, back from the time when barbarians, aided by the dwarves of Durmoz, caused the downfall of the empire that became Zaotu. Orcs in Zaotu who are not born to the Mazirah are known as Kogurk, which is an ancient orcish word for fecal matter, and they are treated as such.

The Sorsogth Pact is a group of nation located in a vast swampland in the southern part of the continent. Some human tribes, reptillian peoples, and other creatures that are far more horrible inhabit Sorsogth. Worship of the Elder Powers is common here, and those who follow the Divine or Its Incarnations are faced with a high prospect of an untimely death. The various humanoid tribes have an uneasy alliance, a pact made in blood in a foul ritual to a nameless Elder Power eons ago, that binds them together in their mutual hatred for outsiders. Deeper within the swamps live the Cerokagil, a race of crocodilian humanoids with immense physical power who worship a Lesser Elder Power that lives on this plane.

Xathan · June 28, 2006, 08:51:20 PM

Tarot

Tarot is a land where industrialization ran rampant long ago. Now, the skies are dark, lit by a red sun that often hides behind clouds of soot. Due to planar boundries, Tarot is close to the Aether of evil outsiders, and that influence has led to many demonic creatures being born in this world. Despite the harshness, the free people of Tarot get along well, and most enjoy a high standard of living due to the large amount of exporting Tarot does. However, Tarot is built on the back of slave labor, and the slaves of Tarot are treated little better than dogs.

People who are not native to either Sooth or Tarot call Tarot the sister plane of Sooth, and they both have do much in common. Both are broken up into multiple smaller nations, as opposed to being dominated by a few or even a singular larger one, as most Primes are. Both hold major powers that span the Aether. Both are economic powerhouses. And both have a deep-seated hatred of the other, born from two centuries of economic warfare and privateer attacks on shipping that luckily has never erupted into outright war. However, natives of the two planes despise each other, and will often attack each other on sight if they meet on neutral ground. This is especially true of diabolii and humans.

Native Races:

[spoiler=Diabolii] Diabolii

[ic=High Prophet Iseranda Marenez deÃ¢,¬,,¢Alejandro]What is forgotten is not forever lost, and what once was can be again.[/ic]

[note]pronounce all diabolii words as you would pronounce that word in Spanish.[/note]Origins: The diabolii believe themselves to be the spiritual descendants of the Dios, a race of creatures that conquered multiple aethers long before the Aether of Sooth formed. While this claim is dubious at best, the diabolii have a few artifacts that are impossible to explain any other ways. Regardless, the diabolii mythology claims the Dios traversed the aethers by a construct known in diabolii mythology as the Path, and the diabolii intend on finding this Path and reclaiming the glory of the Dios.

History: the diabolii are natives to Tarot, or at least their physical forms are native to Tarot. Proven history begins for them roughly 15,000 years ago, when the first crude drawings on caves appear on Tarot, likely of diabolii production due to the skeletons found in the area. Pre-historic Diabolii was much larger than modern Diabolii, nearly nine feet tall, and all recorded skeletons had the wings, tails, horns, fangs, and other physical modifications that diabolii only selectively manifest today. Rumors exist of primitive diabolii existing deep beneath TarotÃ¢,¬,,¢s surface, and with the recent discovery of hidden Neanderthal tribes in the jungles of Sooth, there is a possibility there is truth to the rumors.

After those cave paintings, there is very little evidence of diabolii culture until roughly 7000 years ago, when modern diabolii appeared with a grand culture, almost from no-where. While this supports the diabolii origin theory, records from the empire itself are inconclusive and often contradictory. This Empire collapsed due to external pressure roughly 5000 years ago, around the time of the FeyÃ¢,¬,,¢riÃ¢,¬,,¢s arrival on Tarot.

[ooc]rest coming later, including expanded information on this Empire, the Darkborn Wars, where the FeyÃ¢,¬,,¢ri warred with diabolii, Al Ezad de Escondida, the Diabolii equivalent of the Dark Ages, Al Garanz Resurgimiento, when Diabolii culture evolved and Tarot had first contact with Sooth, and more, all the way up to the EmpireÃ¢,¬,,¢s rebirth.[/ooc][/spoiler]

Tieflings Ã¢,¬' The Tieflings are the result of breeding between human slaves and some of TarotÃ¢,¬,,¢s more powerful natives. Tiefling culture falls in one of three areas. One area of Tiefling culture is the slave culture, tieflings born into slavery who are raised as slaves. Another area of Tiefling culture are freeborn tieflings, who do their best to blend into mainstream Tarot society. The final group of tieflings are savages who escape slavery and eke out a living in the harsh wilderness of Tarot. Tieflings loose the outsider type and the native subtype, and gain the Humanoid type.

Shadar Ã¢,¬' see Thaedia for information. Their role is mostly unchanged, though they mostly do their business off plane, and they become a distinct race, lacking true fiendish blood.

Port of Call:

[spoiler=HellÃ¢,¬,,¢s Cradle]HellÃ¢,¬,,¢s Cradle is the largest port on Tarot. Located in a wide canyon, HellÃ¢,¬,,¢s Cradle has ports for sky and airships all along its sides, as well as seaports on the river at the bottom of the canyon. A city exists on the surface of the canyon, stretching along with the ports.

HellÃ¢,¬,,¢s Cradle rivals its sister, Mithraed on Sooth, for size and availability of products. Not only that, but HellÃ¢,¬,,¢s Cradle features the single largest open air slave market on the known planes.[/spoiler]

Xathan · June 28, 2006, 09:19:41 PM

Non-Prime Planes

[spoiler=Aether]

[note=Angels and Demons]One question about Sooth I am often asked is Ã¢,¬Å"Where do Outsiders come from?Ã¢,¬Â The answer: Different Aethers. The Aether binds together the various Primes. Past the Aether is the Astral, and past that are the realms of outsiders. Wrapped up inside these are other transitive plane, Shadow and the Dreamscape and The Mirrored Paths and what not. Beyond that is the Divine, which is the Monotheistic power that watches over Sooth, as well as the Elserealms, my take on The Far Realms. No one really worships the divine, though, but polytheistic gods organizes into Pantheons and such like standard DnD. Also, just because they are Ã¢,¬ËoutsideÃ¢,¬,,¢ of SoothÃ¢,¬,,¢s Aether doesnÃ¢,¬,,¢t mean the planes donÃ¢,¬,,¢t get closer in some places, or further away in others, and influence from other Aethers is common.[/note]

The Aether is the transitive plane that runs between the various prime materials. The Aether has the following traits.

Quote from: Ethereal as a bubbleThanks for the idea, Crit. And by Thanks, I mean I shamelessly am stealing the Ethereal bubble idea from him.[/note] A person who travels into the Ethereal and than travels outwards into the Deep Ethereal will wind up in the Aether, and a person in Aether who floats down without gating in to the Prime will be on the Ethereal. Ethereal planes are much more dangerous than standard DnD, though, and Aether ships in the Ethereal attract all sorts of creatures. Also, most nations have Ethereal defenses, to prevent easy smuggling or attack from that direction. Most ships will enter the surface of the deep Ethereal, then gate into the world itself, openly or secretly.

The rest is as expected on the Prime Material, but there are some changes that donÃ¢,¬,,¢t fit into normal listings.

When on the Aether, sustenance is partially provided by the Aetherstuff. A character that is fully exposed to Aether needs only a fourth as much food, water, and air as normal for a Prime. Aetherstuff is absorbed through the skin, and therefore a character contained within an airtight suit will

The Aether is not the empty void the Astral is, but instead inhabited by a number of things. Here are some things that might be encountered on the Aether:

[spoiler=Slavers, Pirates, and Smugglers, oh my!] [note=Slavery in The Thousand Realms]Slavery is illegal in some areas, and legal in others, depending on the culture. Some cultures are built around ritualized slavery, but abhor the idea of taking unwilling slaves. Others hate the idea of slaves, and try to set them free whenever possible. As such, slavers assume other ships that are not bearing the colors of a friendly power are hostile, and will attack or flee on sight, enslaving the ships members who survive the attack.[/note]

Various ships will be encountered on the Aether. While most of those ships are on legitimate business, the significant minority that is not on illegitimate business doesnÃ¢,¬,,¢t share space well. Githyanki pirates, gnome and neogi slavers, and other pirates, privateers, and smugglers from all walks of life will attack weaker ships without hesitation, and will flee from larger ones. Smugglers are less likely to attack than slavers or pirates, and often can be bartered with to get rid of their gains, since in the Aether, there are no official laws. However, nations still have Ã¢,¬ËpoliciesÃ¢,¬,,¢, and people caught by the Latherian Empire, Diabolii Enclave, or other plane spanning powers will have a tough time explaining a hull full of contraband, especially if they are in Aether space claimed by that power.

Meanwhile, pirates rarely negotiate or barter, and Githyanki will scuttle ships they have raided on general principal, taking the survivors as slaves to sell to the Gnomes or Neogi. Gnome slavers are more interested in doing business than neogi, and one can negotiate or even just outright fly by and ignore gnomish ships without problem, so long as that ship isnÃ¢,¬,,¢t behind quota. Meanwhile, neogi ships are less understanding and more likely to attack.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Lots and Lots of Rocks]Aether debris is more common than Astral. Aether debris is simply big rocks that float through the Aether. Their origins are unknown, but they exist almost everywhere. People have built stopping stations on some pieces of Aether debris along more popular fairways, since Aether debris will not move without some outside force influencing it.

Most Primes have much thicker debris field surrounding them, and they are inhabited by traders, military instillations, and some even have residences sitting on them, for people who wish to escape the troubles on their Prime.[/spoiler][/spoiler]

Xathan · July 02, 2006, 02:30:16 PM

Elves

[ic]As one of the most highly proliferated races yet known, one must ask on the origins of elvesÃ¢,¬Â¦[While it seems that] Elves are highly adapted to their individual worlds, recent evidence, including texts gained from the recent razing of the elvish library on Helnatha, that elves actually originated from a single locationÃ¢,¬Â¦[It is my conclusion] that Elves are not only not native to any of the worlds they currently inhabit, but are also not native to this Aether.
-often cited passage from On Origins, the Definitive works on racial development by Dr. Banil Falchik.[/ic]

[ic]Dr. Falchik was correct in his conclusions. The Elves that roam the planes of Sooth are not native to this realm, but rather to some other, more distant Aether. We came here because of our own greed, our own pride, and our own hubris, brought low by our sins. The Larethians would do well to remember this, lest history repeat itself.
- Saerid, Captain of the Shining Flame[/ic]

[note=OOC]This is also an attempt to justify the existence of the numerous elven subraces logically. It is inspired largely by the manual of the planes description of how color pools work in the Astral, with the creature entering one astrally forming a new body out of that planeÃ¢,¬,,¢s materials. Unfortunately, this description doesnÃ¢,¬,,¢t work well with a direct port over to other settings, so the several breeds of elves in FR or standard DnD are still a mystery.[/note]The Elves of the Thousand Realms are not native to this world, as Dr. Falchik proposed. While well aware of this fact, it is one most elves, especially the Larethian empire, try to suppress as best they can. Dr. Falchik has been discredited by Larethian scholars on numerous occasions, and some rumors about unseemly personal habits have begin to arise, all immediately after On Origins was published. Meanwhile, Saerid is already wanted dead or alive for crimes against the Empire and Elven Kind.

The Grand EmpireÃ¢,¬,,¢s Fall

The elves existed originally on an Aether separate from the one on which Sooth resides. While the knowledge of how they came to be in that Aether has been lost, what is known is that the Elves once ruled a vast empire that spanned the entire Other Aether, covering thousands of worlds. All the other inhabitants of that realms were the slaves of the elves, and while the elven texts recovered from the razing of Helnatha claim their rulership was benevolent, and the slaves were happy with their place, what happened next does not support this claim.

[note=Larethian]Larethian is a title that means emperor, used much like Caesar was in Rome. Larethian is not an actual elven surname.[/note]During the reign of Corellon Larethian, the slaves of the elves rose up in revolt. While such revolutions had occurred in the past, never had it been so widespread, and never before had the slaves dared use magic. Outnumbered a hundred to one to begin with, the elves realized that this was the end of their civilization, and considering the ferocity of the slaveÃ¢,¬,,¢s revolt, likely the end of their race. So, in an act of desperation, Corellon gathered his greatest archmages, including his bride Lloth, and together they cast a spell designed to strip the elven people of this world and move them to a realm where they might be safe. However, the casting of this spell was rushed, and the magical backlash destroyed the reality they left, including the corporal forms of the elves.

The Great Drift

The elves were scattered across the Astral plane, drifting in the space between the Aethers without form. It is likely many elves still drift to this day, a remnant of a remnant that will never age, never die, and never pass on. It is unknown how long the elves drifted in the manner, for in the astral time has no meaning and a year could be a second or a millennium. What is known that, eventually, a large group of elves, gathered with Corellon and Lloth, discovered a realm that seemed ideal to their purposes, and fled into that Aether.

Upon arrival, they were scattered.

The source of this scattering remains a mystery. Some say the elves arrived during the catastrophic wars between dragons and the remnants of the Elder Ones whose great structures can be still found. Others say the elves arrived far to late for that. The truth of the matter is, the elves arrived during a catastrophic series of Aetherstorms that wracked reality for a time. This storm forced them apart, separating even Lloth and Corellon. They were forced to take refuge on various Prime material planes.

Reformation and Division.

Upon discovering the various primes, the elves took physical form. This was not a conscious decision on the part of the elves, but rather something that was forced upon them. These new bodies were formed from the substances of the material planes, and they were changed for it. Most of the changes were minor physical changes, with some gaining extraordinary powers. Some, however, were horribly warped. Perhaps the most horrible change was Lloth. By sheer unlucky chance, or perhaps malevolent divine intervention, Lloth materialized on the plane of Dincharax inside of the body of a huge spider demon. The two fused, and while LlothÃ¢,¬,,¢s intellect proved to be superior, the process also drove her completely insane.

Meanwhile, Corellon materialized on the plane known as Sooth with 616 elves. He, an archmage of no mean skill himself, sent out a call across the Aether, trying to gather the scattered elves. Most of them were cut off, but he was able to gather an additional three thousand elves to the tiny island he and the 616 had materialized on. On that day, he founded the Second Larethian Empire, or which is the empire known today.

[ooc]Things To Do:
Define the different elven cultures
-High
-Drow
-Sun
-Moon
-Star
-Wild
-Feral
-Aquatic
-Coral
-Painted
-Snow
-Death
-Any others
Explain the Larethian Empire[/ooc]
.

Xathan · July 10, 2006, 01:49:22 AM

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